The folks at Big State Tire Supply are doing exactly that, supplying a big state. And the big state, in this case, is Oklahoma.
The Lubbock, Texas-based wholesaler recently opened its 10th location, smack in the middle of the heartland in Oklahoma City. Dealer Sales Manager Kelly Clark and the rest of the new warehouse's crew will serve the entire Sooner State, formerly supplied by the company's Amarillo, Texas, location.
Mr. Clark, who transferred to the new location from Amarillo, said his goal is for his outlet to be the company's biggest. With 25,000 square feet of warehouse space and a 23,000-tire capacity-current inventory is about 20,000 units, Mr. Clark said-the potential is certainly there for that.
But after less than four months of operation, the new location is still taking baby steps.
``We keep getting bigger and bigger as we go,'' Mr. Clark said. ``The Amarillo location has quite a bit more area than we do. More inventory. They crank out quite a few more tires than we do right now. Eventually, with time, we'll do that. It's a slow process. We'll take one step at a time.''
Mr. Clark said he thinks the goal of being the biggest Big State location can be attained within a year. Big State Tire is a Goodyear G3Xpress supplier. In addition to Goodyear, Kelly and Dunlop brand tires, it ships Hankook, GT Radial, Greenball, Titan and Monarch brands.
In addition to passenger and light truck tires, the company also supplies specialty tires for lawnmowers, industrial and farm equipment, graders, forklifts, backhoes and skid-steers. It also takes orders for custom wheels, although it does not stock them.``We've pretty much got it all,'' Mr. Clark said. ``The only thing we don't handle is motorcycle tires.''
The Oklahoma City warehouse employs five, including a team leader, two dealer salesman and a pair of route drivers.